Sheep Island SPA

The island is almost circular, with a lower promontory to the north west, a near vertical cliff face rising between 20m to 30m above the High Water Mark Mean Tide and a domed top overlaid with a thin layer of soil.

Sheep Island qualifies under Article 4.2 of EC Directive 79/409 on the Conservation of Wild Birds by regularly supporting, in summer, a nationally important breeding population of the northern European sub-species of cormorant. In addition, the population is the largest in Northern Ireland and thus makes an important contribution to the range of the sub-species.